Hikari SQ: The Evolution of Light

Hikari SQ: OLED Appearance with the Performance of LED

Hikari SQ are a range of ultra-thin LED light modules that enables luminaire manufacturers and lighting designers to create exceptional experiences with light. Developed with luminaire manufacturers and lighting designers in mind, Hikari makes it easy to bring your ultra-thin concepts to life.

Unique Luminaire Design

With a diffuse, low-glare light output, Hikari provides functional light in decorative applications. The module is lightweight, easy to install and requires no additional optics or heatsinks.

The distinctive, elegant form of Hikari light sources enables a new generation of luminaire design.

More information on this very promising novel designer concept is available on the manufacturer website: https://lightly.tech.

LunaLEC Liquid Light Concept: Light Made Easy

LunaLEC Liquid Light: Enhancing the Next Generation Packaging, Illumination and Signage

In the scientific community, the LunaLEC liquid light concept is known as the Light-Emitting Electrochemical Cell (LEC). From a distance and a layman’s perspective, this technology is very similar to the Organic Light-Emitting Diode (OLED), as both technologies use a flat planar lighting structure in which the light-emitting organic layer is sandwiched between two conductive electrodes.

The LEC Theory – Basic Functions

The LEC only needs one active layer (AL) positioned between two electrodes in a “sandwich structure”. Both electrodes and the AL can be deposited from solution in ambient condition:

The LEC’s Basic Function: Sandwich Materials

The active layer is a blend of active components dissolved in solvents, which solvents are optimized for different deposition techniques. The active components in the active layer are a fluorescent and semiconducting “conjugated polymer” and an electrolyte (dissolved salt).

LunaLEC coloured ink before deposition

In-situ doping: opportunities for the LEC-technology

Utilizing ‘In-situ doping – i.e. dopant atoms are introduced into a semiconductor during its growth. Most commonly, this takes place during epitaxial growth of semiconductor layers. This proces brings enhanced possibilities for LEC technology:

(1) Recombination of electrons and holes in the devices is very efficient.
An efficient recombination of electrons and holes leads to only a small need for over-potential to drive the light-emission. It comes with a low turn-on voltage, i.e. 3-6 VDC for all emission colors;

(2) Functionality of the electrodes is not critical for the injection of electrons and holes.
As opposed to other lighting technologies, LEC devices can utilize air-stable electrodes for both cathode and anode. It means that there is no need for a clean room environment or vacuum to deposit the electrodes. From a solution perspective, there are also possibilities to use electrodes;

(3) Self-Adjustment of Layers
The doping layers will self-adjust to a common distance between n-front and p-front throughout the device regardless of the variations of thickness of the active layer. It is also possible to utilize 3D printing methods with uneven deposition;

(4) Energy Efficient Operations
With triplet harvesting most of the energy most of the energy supplied is used in the efficient recombination of electrons and holes.

LunaLEC Liquid Light Technology: first sample parts

LunaLEC was founded in 2012 in order to develop lighting panels from the LEC-research performed by professors Nathaniel Robinson at Linköping University and Ludvig Edman at Umeå University. Here’s a small movie showing the first samples of LunaLEC liquid light technology, as prepared for its Printoo campaign:

At Lighting-Inspiration.com we keep following this newborn lighting technology with great interest and are curious to see how it will establish itselves within the rising potential for planar lighting technologies in the next decade!

Planar LED Lighting by Oree

“OREE’S INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY OPENS UP A NEW CATEGORY FOR LED ILLUMINATION: PLANAR LED LIGHTING”

Established in 2006, Oree is the pioneer of LED-based planar lighting. Oree’s innovative technology opens up a completely new category for LED illumination: Planar LED Lighting. The patented technology enables the conversion of LED “point sources” to a planar, thin and uniform illuminating surface without sacrificing efficiency, light quality or cost.

The company’s flagship product, the LightCell, address the needs of the lighting market, enabling thin and efficient illumination of planar areas. The technology enables general lighting fixture manufactures to significantly increase system efficiency and dramatically reduce the cost of LED based systems.

What is Planar Lighting ?

Lighting experts, such as a lighting designer or a lighting architect, today are looking for fixtures that are slim, energy efficient and simple to integrate with low construction costs. Planar lighting meets these needs by delivering large, flat, uniform surfaces of light, which distributes a soft wide angle spread. LED planar lighting refers to the application of LEDs to create uniform slim surfaces of light. Since LEDs are a point source, creating large surfaces of uniform light has always been cost-prohibitive, and has resulted in a significant loss of efficiency or thickness compromise. However, new advancements in LED technology, materials and processes have allowed us to produce a truly innovative LED-based planar lighting module.

Planar Lightting Design, Oree’s LightCell

At the heart of planar design is the form factor. Ultra-thin modules are ideal as under cabinet lighting, but take it one step further and you can have an in-cabinet light, so thin that you can embed it into the carpentry or furniture.

There’s been done some comparisons on light quality and output with Philips OLED by OLED-Info.com, we can recommend you viewing this short movie:

Functionality must also be taken in account. Planar lighting generates an extremely wide and soft output suitable for soft flood and display lighting applications, rather than projecting the light in a narrow beam over distance. Weight must also be considered when designing with planar modules. The LightCell module weighs about 8 gr., allowing fixtures to be extremely light with minimal mounting needed.

As opposed to more commonly used point light sources, planar lighting modules illuminate a large surface which can be viewed frontally. In essence, this makes the light-emitting surface part of the fixture design, without using a diffuser and while maintaining only mm of thickness.

Oree’s company website provides more extensive information on the planar concept, you can also purchase a useful Tool Kit for evaluation and engineering purposes.